Brighton and Hove — 29 June 2024

Brighton & Hove Armed Forces Day Celebration 2024

When

10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Location

Brighton and Hove
England
BN1 6ED
United Kingdom

Celebrate Armed Forces Day on June 29th in Brighton & Hove with a fun, interesting and diverse range of activities taking place at Downs Junior School, Rugby Road, Brighton the home of Take Shelter WW2 Museum.

Come see one of the few surviving examples of a WW2 German General Staff Car, a Steyr four by four command vehicle. In 1943 General Von Arnim was captured in Tunisia with this Steyr 270/1500A/2 Light Truck and Staff Car. The Royal Sussex Regiment, which was working alongside the 4th Indian Division, quickly commandeered this useful tool and returned to the UK with it. It’s been fully restored and will be on display for the day.
More info on this car here: https://www.keymilitary.com/article/commanders-car

The Day will be attended by The Mayor of Brighton and Hove and the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex (tbc), along with other local dignitaries. The Mayor will be hosting an event in the Parlor of Brighton Town Hall in honour of our local Veterans who will then join the Mayor on a Vintage Red Route-master Double Decker Bus to travel to Down Junior School and the Take Shelter Museum and join in the day.
The Vintage Route Master will be parked alongside the school gates for people to explore and discover.
( please note, due to it’s age the bus is not wheelchair accessible.)

Our local Brighton & Hove Army, Navy and Air force cadets’ squadrons will be attending and will be showcasing the activities and benefits that Cadets receive as part of their syllabus training with the Army Cadet Force. Fieldcraft showing how Cadets live in a field environment, a display of Foot Drill to demonstrate the discipline and teamwork we encourage in the Cadets, a display of the radio equipment used to highlight STEM activities and First Aid demonstrations to demonstrate the practical skills and confidence of the Cadets.
There will be a formal inspection of the cadets and other Armed Forces Personal by the Lord Lieutenant (tbc) during the afternoon.

The Volunteer team of Take Shelter will be giving a display of wartime dancing.
The fully stocked café will be open all day for hot and cold drinks and a range of tasty food, with a full lunch menu available from 1pm
There will be stalls from a range of local community groups and charities, Armed Forces Groups, and others.

There are tours of the ‘best kept secret’ in Brighton,; the huge, fascinating and fully restored Air Raid Shelter under the playing groud of Downs Junior School. Not only a fascinating piece of WW2 architecture this engaging multimedia museum highlights the experiences of local school children and residents during the bombing raids of the second world war, how local communities adapted and looks at the changes that tool place to our society during and following the war, there are displays on rationing and food supplies, the changes to the work forces, the D-Day landings, key radio broadcasts, and a unique collection of civilian gasmasks, including very rare baby and young children masks.
Take Shelter is a seriously impressive living museum, one of only two air raid shelters open to the public in the country, which deserves a visit.
Lean more here: https://takeshelter.org.uk/

We hope to be joined by our local reservists units to share and showcase the important work they do.

The school also hosts a series of artifacts from the war on display and these will be expanded by artifacts from the Royal Sussex Regiment, along with veterans from the Regiment who will share lived experiences during the afternoon.

The afternoon event will close with a Drumhead Service of Remembrance lead by BHCC vicar.

The event is free to all, fully accessible and there will be plenty of undercover & inside spaces. Picnic’s are encouraged and can be enjoyed in the large playing field.
Parking is limited to pay and display in the surrounding streets, but Down School is on the main bus routes of the city, with buses stopping right outside and is a short walk from London Road Train Station. The event is also part of the Beryl Bike city bike network.
With more participants/groups & stalls tbc

This Armed Forces Day event is co-produced by Take Shelter and Brighton and Hove Council, with huge thanks to Down Junior School and Brighton and Hove buses.

( last updated March 15th)